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Films
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Azerbaijan
Without a Pavement
The film highlights the citizens' struggles related to the sidewalks, certainly in the central streets where sidewalks are very narrow, cars are allowed to enter and parking is chaos. Many citizens who walk the streets where the film is made encounter different challenges. Particularly, for those who are in a hurry or coming back from shopping with some bags. Cars barely move due to the congestion, making the situation even worse for people to pass by. The narrow streets in Baku cover a huge area behind the central area from Hazi Alsanov to Bashir Safaroghlu street where plenty of shopping centers, entertainment and leisure facilities, local shops, business centers, embassies, and hotels are centered. The area requires access to a big number of citizens every day and the situation with the sidewalks demotivates many to walk around these streets. In return, people tend to take cabs to their destination and it creates a vicous circle where the cabs worsen the traffic and eventually the overall situation. At the heart of Baku, many are left without a pavement/sidewalk, and the film portrays the real every-day struggles of citizens.
USA
Brooklyn Bridge Park
It took more than a decade of community-led advocacy (1985-1998) to convince leaders to transform the defunct Port Authority terminal into a park. Through their dedicated participation and many years of public engagement, Brooklynites inspired the idea that the park should feel democratic and reconnect people with the riverfront. After opening in late 2021, rather than speaking about the design himself, Michael Van Valkenburgh wanted to know what people think about the park and how they use it. The user experience is what makes the design, and so Spirit of Space spent a week observing the many experiences and chatted, completely at random, with people at various places within the park. Through these many observations and insights with the public, the design intention was revealed. “I was taking care of this elderly gentleman who lives up on Columbia Heights, and I was describing to him what was happening on the piers. He had a big picture of the piers with all the warehouses on it from when he first moved here…and he was in his 80’s, he was blind and sort of housebound. And, once they opened I said I really want to bring you out of the house, take you to the park, and take your shoes off and let you walk on the grass. That was a really special moment, to be able to give that to him…You think, this is probably the only opportunity this man is gonna have to come put his bare feet in the grass after living in Brooklyn all these years.”
Azerbaijan
Black and White
“Baku is a charming, progressive and clean city with all the high glass buildings, and the unique architectural hybrid from Zaha Hadid Design to social-modernist architecture” - is the thought of most privileged people who have not seen beyond the city center. City design and built environment in Baku is chaotic and unorganized, and mass instruction is always going on. There is a big contrast in design where one could see astonishing beauty on the outside, but when you look on the inside, you see all the suffering, ugliness, and disorder that has been going on since the 1990s. Baku is the biggest center of economy, trade, arts&culture, and education and is the home of the largest job market in the country. Beginning from the late 20th century, the city’s population began skyrocketing with an influx of refugees and forced migrants (due to the war), then later with the oil boom that expanded many job sectors in the region and drove many to the capital in search of work. The rapidly growing population and the economy of Baku pressured the government to advance the “image” and the city's international recognition, which led to a fast growth of infrastructure, architecture, and design. The city hosted major international events throughout the 2010s up until now. Steady growth created a pretty image on the outside but left many behind living in the surrounding neighborhoods of Baku. Most of the streets in suburban areas are in bad condition which challenges many people with disabilities. The design of the streets is relatively inclusive around the center, however, most of the ramps are almost a "décor" more than a useful tool. Other design elements in the city that are supposedly inclusive are also very ill-measured and play the role of "décor" rather than a useful tool for people with disabilities.
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